Archive for March, 2009

Philadelphia
announced today (Monday) that South Kitsap grad Jason Ellison
won’t start the season on the Phillies’ 25-man roster. He hasn’t
been optioned to the minors just yet. They’re keeping him with the
big club through the end of the week.

Sounds like they like Ellison, and there’s been speculatation
that Philly is trying to dump Geoff Jenkins’ salary or trade Matt
Stairs. If they do, Ellison could still wind up as the fifth
outfielder. Of course, that’s all speculation, but I hope it works
out for Ellison. He’s done the minors to majors to minors to majors
to minors thing for a while now. He’s a great clubhouse guy and the
ideal backup outfielder for a club like the defending World
Series champions, who need a speedy, defensive reserve with a
right-handed bat.

Bremerton’s Nathan Adrian won the 100-yard freestyle in an
American record time at the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving
championships on Saturday in College Station, Texas.

Adrian, a 2006 Bremerton High School graduate and current
sophomore at California-Berkeley, won the event in 41.08 seconds,
bettering his morning preliminary time of 41.86 by a narrow
margin.

Adrian held off James Feigen of Texas, who finished in
41.49. Adrian also beat Feigen in the 50 free.

On Thursday, Adrian broke his own American record in the
50 freestyle, winning his first NCAA championship in 18.71 seconds.
Adrian won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a member of
he United States 400 free relay, competing in the
prelims.

Nathan Adrian’s strong performance at the NCAA men’s swimming
championships has drawn some well-deserved attention from the folks
at CollegeSwimming.com.

Check out what the Web site had to say about the Bremerton
native here. Hint: Get used to seeing his face as the
future of men’s swimming.

Today, Adrian, who was the No. 1 seed in the 100-yard freestyle,
had the fourth fastest qualifying time after the morning prelims. I
wouldn’t worry tho’ — Adrian loves the outside lanes and he’s been
swimming great. He knows what he has to do to win his second NCAA
title in three days.

A day after winning the 50-yard freestyle, Bremerton’s Nathan
Adrian helped California’s 200 medley relay to a second-place
finish at the men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving championships at Texas
A&M.

Adrian, along with teammates Guy Barnea, Damir Dugonjic,
Graeme Moore, finished behind national champion Auburn, who touched
the wall in one minute, 22.36 seconds — a new NCAA-record time. Cal
finished in 1:22.50, a new school record.

Earlier in the day, Adrian swam the 200 freestyle — not his best
event — and finished 22nd with a time of 1:35.15. On Thursday,
Adrian surprised the field by winning the 50 free in 18.71 seconds,
breaking his own American record in the event. It was his first
NCAA championship.

Adrian is scheduled to swim in the 100 freestyle today,
the same event he won at the Pac-10 championships, and is the
No. 1 seed in that event. He is also slated to swim a leg on Cal’s
400 free relay, which is seeded third.

Adrian won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a
member of the United States 400 free relay, competing in the
prelims.

After 13 events, Cal sits in fourth place with 225 points.
Auburn leads the meet with 320 points heading into final day,
followed by Texas, 308, and Stanford, 266.5.

Drew Silverman, a writer for the Philadelphia Bulletin, breaks
down the Phillies by position. In his project, South Kitsap product
and one-time Mariner Jason Ellison earns a spot on the roster as a
backup outfielder. Here’s what Silverman wrote:

Outfielders: Jayson Werth and Shane
Victorino are entrenched in right and center field, respectively.
After Pat Burrell manned the position for the last nine years, Raul
Ibanez will take over in left. None of this is news. However, the
Phillies’ backup outfield positions could prove to be a spot where
the team looks to make a move. With their starting lineup already
dominated by left-handed hitters, the Phillies need a right-handed
bat off the bench. As of now, Bruntlett and either Coste or Paulino
are their only right-handed options. Don’t be surprised if the
Phils trade either Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs at some point in
the next week or two. Jenkins’ contract (one more year, $6.75
million) would be tough for another team to swallow, so moving
Stairs is the more likely option. Even at age 41, the NLCS hero can
still be a productive bench player, but he’s best suited for the
American League. Look for the Phillies to move him, possibly in
favor of keeping Jason Ellison (.286 in 28 at-bats) as a reserve
outfielder.

Ryan Villopoto from Poulsbo missed last
weekend’s Supercross stop at St. Louis because of a viral
infection and is currently fifth in the 450cc points chase in his
rookie year on the bigger bikes. He won the Supercross lites title
the past tw0 years. Here’s the top-five 450cc riders with five
races left, including the April race at Qwest Field in Seattle:

Here’s an injury update on Marvin Williams’ back injury.
Apparently he’s feeling better. And he’s been running on an
anti-gravity treadmill. What the heck is that? And where do I get
one?
Also: Here’s a
story comparing North Carolina’s 2009 team to the title team of
2005, which had Marvin Williams on it. Playing the role of Marvin
this year? Ed Davis.

University of Washington junior Nick Taylor has probably been
thinking the same thing lately. Taylor on Tuesday captured medalist
honors at the Oregon Duck Invitational after shooting 70-73-68—211.
It’s the third time this season Taylor’s finished first at a
tournament, which sets a school record. He’s also won the
CordeValle Collegiate and the Hawaii-Hilo Invitational.

As a team, the Huskies are currently ranked No. 12 among all
colleges by Golfweek. Taylor is ranked No. 27 individually, nine
spots behind teammate Richard Lee, who has seven top-10 finishes in
eight events this season.

The Huskies, for whom Gold Mountain Golf Club director of golf
operations Scott Alexander is a volunteer assistant coach, are back
in action to the U.S. Collegiate on April 5-7 in Alphretta, Ga.

Nathan Adrian, a Bremerton High product, and the California
Golden Bears open the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving championships
today through Saturday at Texas A&M University in College
Station, Texas. Prelims are at 9 a.m. with finals at 7 p.m.

Adrian, a sophomore at Cal, is the top seed in the
100-yard free with a time of 41.43 seconds and is the current
Pac-10 champion. Adrian is seeded second in the 50 free in 18.82
seconds — the current U.S. record. Australian Matt Targett of
Auburn is the top seed in 18.52. He is also seeded fifth in the 200
free. Adrian is also slated to swim in the Bears’ 400 medley, 200
free, 400 free and 800 free relay teams. Adrian is the Pac-10
champion in all three of his individual events.

The 50 free, 400 medley relay and 200 free relays events
are scheduled for today. Cal’s 400 medley relay currently holds the
NCAA record in 3:03.30 and is the No. 1 seed. Friday’s events
include the 200 free and 800 free relay while Saturday is the 100
free and 400 free relay.

A live video by Swimming World Magazine can be found on
the championship web site here.